Social where next suggestion

ABSTRACT

A group recommendation provides end users in a social group a set of recommended destinations based on the combined personal preferences of the members of the social group. Members of a social group are identified using a combination of location based signals and social graph information in response to receiving a recommendation request. The group recommendation may be determined by combining the personal preferences associated with each member of the group into a master preference profile. Alternatively, the group recommendation may be determined by first calculating an individual recommendation list for each member of the social group and then calculating a composite score for each recommendation on the individual recommendation lists.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/054,708 filed Oct. 15, 2013 and entitled “SocialWhere Next Suggestion.” The complete disclosure of the above-identifiedpriority application is hereby fully incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for providing a list ofdestination recommendations to a social group. More particularly, thisdisclosure describes systems and methods for first identifying a socialgroup based on a combination of location-based signals and social graphinformation and then providing a group recommendation based at least inpart on the personal preference profiles of each member of the socialgroup.

BACKGROUND

When people go out to explore restaurants, pubs, attractions, andrecreational venues, they tend to do so in groups. They also tend toreport their activity using social network features like posts, photos,and check-ins. After deciding to leave one location, they may wantrecommendations regarding where to go next. Users desire to obtain a setof recommended destinations on their mobile communication device thatnot only provide recommendations based on their individual personalpreferences but are also based on the personal preferences of othermembers in their group.

SUMMARY

In certain example embodiments described herein, a method for providingdestination recommendations to social groups comprises receiving, at agroup recommendation system, a recommendation request from a remotecomputing device associated with a requesting user, identifying by thesystem a preliminary social group based on one or more location-basedsignals received from one or more remote computing devices, identifyingthose members of the preliminary social group that meet a socialconnection threshold to define a social group, generating a grouprecommendation list comprising recommendations for where to go next, anddisplaying the group recommendation list on the remote computing deviceof at least the requesting user.

In certain other example embodiments described herein, a system and acomputer program product for providing destination recommendations tosocial groups are provided.

These and other aspects, objects, features, and advantages of theexample embodiments will become apparent to those having ordinary skillin the art upon consideration of the following detailed description ofillustrated example embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a system for identifying andproviding suggested destinations to members of a social group, inaccordance with certain example embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block flow diagram depicting a method to provide destinationrecommendation based on the composition of an identified social group,in accordance with certain example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block flow diagram depicting a method to identify members ofa social group based on location-based signals and social graphinformation, in accordance with certain example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block flow diagram depicting a method to generate groupdestination recommendations, in accordance with certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram depicting a computing machine and a module, inaccordance with certain example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Overview

The embodiments described herein provide a system and method foridentifying and providing suggested destinations to members of a socialgroup. For example, a social group may comprise a group of individualswho are at the same location and would like recommendations on where togo next. In certain example embodiments, the system can identify membersof the social group based on a combination of location-based signals andsocial graph information. After the composition of a social group isdetermined, the system can generate a list of suggested destinationstailored to the group.

Location-based signals that refer to the same location, or within adefined proximity threshold may be used to define a preliminary socialgroup. Location-based signals may only be acquired by the system if theuser has given prior permission to share such location-based signalsfrom their remote computing device. For example, the user may set theirdefault preference for sharing location based signals in an accountassociated with the user and stored on the system. Alternatively, anapplication executing on the remote computing device may prompt the userto provide permission to share a location-based signal with the system.Location-based signals may be explicit location-based signals,implicit-location based signals, or a combination thereof. Explicitlocation-based signals may include signals received from a remotecomputing device associate with a member of a social group, such as thecheck-in feature available in a social network application. Implicitlocation-based signals may include signals that are associated withanother user's explicit location-based signal. For example, socialnetworking services may allow a user to tag other users when the userchecks-in to a location. Alternatively, a user may also tag another userin a photo when uploading the photo to a social network. The tagged usermay then be associated with the location of the check-in or photo.

The process for providing a destination recommendation is initiated whenthe system receives a location-based signal from a mobile computingdevice associated with a user. The location-based signal provides acurrent location of the mobile computing device. The user may explicitlyinitiate a destination recommendation request. Alternatively, the usermay elect to allow the mobile computing device to provide updatedlocation information to the system and allow the system to surfacedestination recommendations automatically. To determine if the user ispart of a social group, the system then identifies other users withlocation-based signals that have been received by the system and thatare within a defined proximity and time threshold of the requestinguser. For example, the system may look for other users that havechecked-in to the same location within a defined time window. In certainexample embodiments, the system may look for location-based signals thatfit the defined proximity and time thresholds only for users who arewithin a social connection threshold to the requesting user. Forexample, the system may look for location-based signals received onlyfrom remote computing devices associated with users that are within onestep in a social graph of the requesting user. In one exampleembodiment, each member may be required to have at least one socialnetwork connection with every member of the group. In another exampleembodiment, each member may be required to share at least one commonsocial network connection with at least one other member of the socialgroup, but may have less than a social network connection with everymember of the group. For example, a first user and a second user mayboth have a common social network connection to a third user, but nothave a direct social network connection between the first and secondusers.

After a social group is identified, the system then generates a rankedgroup recommendation comprising a list of suggested destinations for thegroup. The ranked group recommendation takes into account the personalpreferences of each member of the group. In certain example embodiments,the system may send a verification to the requesting user or all membersof the group giving them the option to confirm whether they are membersof the same social group. In one example embodiment, the ranked socialgroup recommendation is generated by first generating individualrecommendation lists for each user based on a personal profile of eachmember of the social group. For example, the system may apply arecommendation algorithm to a personal profile associated with each userto generate the individual recommendation list. A group recommendationis then prepared comprising destinations from the individualrecommendation lists. For example, the group recommendation may includeonly destinations that appears on at least two individual recommendationlists. Each recommendation may be ranked according to a composite score.For example, the composite score may be determined by adding togetherthe score that a recommendation received on each individualrecommendation list.

In another example embodiment, the system generates the ranked socialgroup recommendation list by merging the personal preference profile ofeach group member to generate a master preference profile. The samealgorithm that is applied to generate individual recommendations is thenapplied to the master preference profile to generate the ranked grouprecommendation.

The system then displays the ranked group recommendations on the remotecomputing device associated with the requesting user. In certain exampleembodiments, the system may also display the group recommendations onthe remote computing devices associated with other members of the group.

Turning now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like (butnot necessarily identical) elements throughout the figures, exampleembodiments are described in detail.

Example System Architectures

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a system for identifying andproviding suggested destinations to members of a social group, inaccordance with certain example embodiments. As depicted in FIG. 1, theoperating environment 100 includes network computing devices 110 a-c and120 that are configured to communicate with one another via one or morenetworks 105. In some embodiments, a user associated with remotecomputing devices 110 a-c must install an application and/or make afeature selection to obtain the benefits of the techniques describedherein.

Each network 105 includes a wired or wireless telecommunication means bywhich network devices (including devices 110 a-c and 120) can exchangedata. For example, each network 105 can include a local area network(“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), an intranet, an Internet, storagearea network (SAN), personal area network (PAN), a metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a cellular or other mobile communication network,Bluetooth, NFC, or any combination thereof or any other appropriatearchitecture or system that facilitates the communication of signals,data, and/or messages. Throughout the discussion of example embodiments,it should be understood that the terms “data” and “information” are usedinterchangeably herein to refer to text, images, audio, video, or anyother form of information that can exist in a computer-basedenvironment.

Each network device 110 a-c and 120 includes a device having acommunication module capable of transmitting and receiving data over thenetwork 105. For example, each network device 110 a-c and 120 caninclude a server, desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, atelevision with one or more processors embedded therein and/or coupledthereto, smart phone, handheld computer, personal digital assistant(“PDA”), or any other wired or wireless, processor-driven device. In theexample embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the network devices (includingdevices 110 a-c and 120) are operated by end-users or consumers (notdepicted), and group recommendation system 120 operators (not depicted),respectively.

A user can use an application 111 on the remote computing device 110,such as a web browser application or a stand-alone application, to view,download, upload, or otherwise access documents or web pages via thenetwork 105. The application 111 can interact with web servers or othercomputing devices connected to the network 105, including the grouprecommendation system 120.

It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exampleand other means of establishing a communications link between thecomputers and devices can be used. Moreover, those having ordinary skillin the art having the benefit of the present disclosure will appreciatethat the remote computing devices 110 a-c and group recommendationsystem 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 can have any of several other suitablecomputer system configurations. For example a remote computing device110 embodied as a mobile phone or handheld computer may not include allthe components described above.

Example Processes

The example methods illustrated in FIG. 2-4 are described hereinafterwith respect to the components of the example operating environment 100.The example methods of FIG. 2-4 may also be performed with other systemsand in other operating environments.

FIG. 2 is a block flow diagram depicting a method 200 to providedestination recommendations based on the composition of an identifiedsocial group, in accordance with certain example embodiments.

Method 200 begins at block 205 where the group module 121 detects alocation-based signal from a remote computing device 110 a. For example,the user may have enabled a location history function on the remotecomputing device that sends a set of time-stamped GPS coordinates to thegroup module 121 at regularly timed intervals. In certain exampleembodiments, the user may communicate a recommendation request to thedestination recommendation system. For example, the user may be at arestaurant and may wish to receive a list of suggested destinations onwhere to go next. The requesting user may have a user account stored inthe user preference index 123. The user account stores a user preferenceprofile. The personal preference profile may cover a wide variety ofsubjects. For example, the user may specify favorite restaurants, byname or type, favorite neighborhoods, favorite retailers, a preferredprice range, and preferred attractions or concerts, among other items. Auser may also score or weight how important a given factor in thepersonal profile is to the recommendations they would like to see. Forexample, a user may specify that a particular type of restaurant in aparticular neighborhood is a more important factor than price. Incertain example embodiments, a user's personal preferences may beinferred from behavior of the user on the system or relatedapplications. For example, a personal preference for a particularrestaurant may be inferred from repeated check-ins at the same location,the writing of a review after visiting a given location, or bookmarkingof locations. The request for a destination recommendation may include ageneral request for all recommended suggestions, or the request mayspecify certain categories of destinations such as a theater, a museum,or a bar.

At block 210, the suggestion module 121 determines whether the user ispart of a social group by identifying other potential members of thesocial group based on location-based signals and social graphinformation. Block 210 will be described in further detail withreference to FIG. 3 below.

FIG. 3 is a block flow diagram depicting a method 210 to identifymembers of a social group, in accordance with certain exampleembodiments. Method 210 begins at block 305, where the group module 121receives a location-based signal from the remote computing device 110 a.In certain example embodiments, the location-based signal may beincluded in the destination recommendation request discussed above inreference to block 205. In certain other example embodiments, thesuggestion module 122 may communicate a request to provide currentlocation information to the remote computing device 110 a in response toreceiving the destination recommendation request. The location-basedsignals may include an explicit location-based signal received from theremote computing device 110 a, such as a GPS location from a GPSapplication of the remote computing device 110 a or the check-in featureavailable in a social network application. In other example embodiments,the application 111 may request location data from an operating systemof the remote computing device 110 a. Access to and transmission oflocation-based signals by the application 111 may only be performed withprior consent from the user.

At block 310, the group module 121 uses the location informationincluded in the location-based signal received from the remote computingdevice 110 a to determine if other users associated with other remotecomputing devices 110, for example remote computing devices 110 b-c, arenearby. The group module 121 may use a predetermined proximity thresholdto determine if location-based signals from other remote computingdevices 110 b-c are within the predetermined proximity threshold. Incertain example embodiments, the proximity threshold may require theother remote computing devices 110 b-c to be checked-in to the samelocation as remote computing device 110 a. In other example embodiments,the proximity threshold may define a distance threshold that the remotecomputing devices 110 b-c have to be within to be considered nearby. Thedistance threshold can be calibrated based on the time or location ofthe remote computing device 110 a. For example, if remote computingdevice 110 a is at a restaurant the distance threshold may be relativelysmall, for example within 50 feet and the time threshold relatively low,for example, the typical time it would take to complete a meal. If theremote computing device 110 a is checked in at a theme park ormulti-venue sporting or music event that spans several acres, thedistance threshold may be defined in hundreds or thousands of feet andthe time threshold may be expanded.

The location-based signals may be explicit. For example, alocation-based signal, such as a check-in, is received directly from themobile computing device associated with the user. The location-basedsignal may also include implicit location-based signals. For example,social networking services allow a user to tag other users in theirsocial network when the user checks-in to a location. Alternatively, auser may also tag another user in a photo when uploading the photo to asocial network. A photo may have GPS and time metadata associated withit by the camera application that took the photo. A photo may also beassociated with a location when the photo is attached to a check-in at agiven location. The photo does not have to be taken by a member of thesocial group. A photo that associates a potential member of the socialgroup with the location of the requesting user or preliminary socialgroup can be taken by a user who is not included in the social group. Incertain example embodiments, the group module 121 may require theimplicit-location signal to be within a defined time threshold. Forexample, if a user has been tagged in a photo, the group module 121 maydetermine that the tag was added within a defined time threshold toensure the tag was a recent tag and thereby increase the likelihood thetagged user is at the same location as the preliminary social group. Incertain example embodiments, the group module 121 may also determine thedate and time of the upload of the photo and exclude any photos outsidethe time threshold even if the potential social group member has beentagged by a current social group member.

If the group module 121 determines that other users associated withother remote computing devices 110 b-c are nearby, then the methodproceeds to block 315. If the group module 121 does not determine thatremote computing devices 110 b-c arc nearby, then the method returns toblock 305 and waits to receive a location-based signal from a userrequesting a recommendation search. In certain other exampleembodiments, the system may proceed instead to provide an individualdestination recommendation to the requesting user, for example, asdescribed below in reference to block 405.

In block 315, the group module 121 uses social graph informationassociated with the requesting user to select those users identified inblock 310 above that also meet a predetermined social connectionthreshold. The users that meet the social connection threshold define afinal social group. For example, the group module 121 may identify onlythose users that have a direct connection to the requesting user. Inother example embodiments, the group module 121 may include users thatare within a defined number of steps on the requesting user's socialgraph. In other example embodiments, the group module 121 may includeusers that are not connected to the requesting user but are directlyconnected to a second user that is in turn directly connected to therequesting user. In yet other example embodiments, the group module 121may include users that have a defined number of users in common in theirrespective social graphs. The group module 121 may communicate a requestto remote computing device 110 a to access the social graph informationof the requesting user, for example by requesting the user login in totheir social network account, wherein the login authorizes a socialnetwork server 124 to share social graph information with the groupmodule 121. In certain example embodiments, the social network server124 may be part of the group recommendation system 120 and accessed bythe same user account login.

In another example embodiment, the group module 121 first identifies allusers for which the group module 121 has received location-basedinformation and determines if any remote computing device 110 is withinthe defined proximity threshold. For example, the group module 121 maystore location-based information in a data structure for a definedperiod of time. For example, the group module 121 may time stamp alocation-based signal and store the remote computing device 110 locationinformation from the location-based signal in an index, where the indexdeletes the stored location information at a set time interval. Thesuggestion module 121 then determines if any of the identified remotecomputing devices 110 meet the social connection threshold.

In certain example embodiments, the group module 121 may first performblock 315 to identify those users that meet the social connectionthreshold, and then define the social group by determining if alocation-based signal has been received for one or more of those usersas described in block 310 above.

At block 320, the group module 121 may communicate a social groupconfirmation to one or more members of the identified social group. Forexample the social group confirmation may only be communicated to therequesting user, or may be communicated to each member of the group. Auser may then confirm they are a member of the social group or opt outof being included in the social group. The method then proceeds to block215 of FIG. 2.

Returning to block 215 of FIG. 2, the suggestion module 122 generates aranked destination recommendation list based on the personal preferenceprofiles of each member of the group. Block 215 is described in furtherdetail hereinafter with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a block flow diagram depicting a method 215 to generate rankeddestination recommendations based on the personal preference profiles ofeach member of the social group, in accordance with certain exampleembodiments.

Method 215 begins at block 405, where the suggestion module 122generates a personal recommendation for each member based at least inpart on each user's personal preference profile. For example, thesuggestion module 122 may access a user preference profile index 123.For each registered user of the system 120, the user preference profileindex 123 stores a preference profile. The preference profile may becreated by the user when the user registers with the grouprecommendation system 120 as referenced in block 205 above, or may beobtained from an associated non-group-based recommendation system. Incertain example embodiments, the group recommendation system 120provides individual as well as group-based recommendations. In certainexample embodiments, a user's personal preferences may be inferred frombehavior of the user on the system or related applications. For example,a personal preference for a particular restaurant may be inferred fromrepeated check-ins at the same location, the writing of a review aftervisiting a given location, or bookmarking of locations. The preferencesin a preference profile are used to focus the recommendation for thatuser and to emphasize or highlight results that match the personalpreference profile. In certain example embodiments, the grouprecommendation system 120 generates a list of recommendations for a userbased on their personal profile using a recommendation rankingalgorithm. In certain example embodiments, the recommendation rankingalgorithm generates a list of recommendations for the user with a scorefor each recommendation based on how closely the recommendation matchesone or more criteria of the personal preference profile. Therecommendations may be ranked or given a score value. For example, arecommendation that matches multiple criteria in a user's preferenceprofile may be given a higher score than a recommendation that matcheson a single criteria in a user's preference profile. The suggestionmodule 122 generates a personal recommendation list for each member ofthe social group.

At block 410, the suggestion module 122 calculates a composite score foreach recommendation based, at least in part, on the individual rank therecommendation received in each personal recommendation list. Forexample, the suggestion module 122 may identify common recommendationsthat occur in multiple personal recommendation lists and calculate acomposite score for that recommendation. In certain example embodiments,the composite recommendation may be calculated by adding the rank orscore value each recommendation list achieved on each personalrecommendation list. For example, if recommendation A had a score of 10on user A's personal recommendation list, a score of 5 on user B'spersonal recommendation list, and a score of 7 on user C's personalrecommendation list, the composite score would be 22. In certain otherexample embodiments, the composite score is calculated by multiplyingthe scores assigned to a common recommendation on multiple personalrecommendation list.

At block 420, the suggestion module 122 then generates a ranked grouprecommendation list based on at least the calculated composite score foreach recommendation. For example, the suggestion module 122 may generatea ranked recommendation list with the recommendations ranked fromhighest to lowest based on the composite score of each recommendation.

In an alternative example embodiment, the individual personal profilesof each member of the group are first merged into a group recommendationprofile. For example, in a social group comprising group members A, B,and C, the suggestion module will merge the personal profiles of groupmembers A, B, and C into a single group suggestion profile. Thesuggestion module 122 then applies the same ranking algorithm used forindividual recommendation list to generate a group recommendation list.The method 215 then proceeds to block 220 of FIG. 2.

Returning to block 220 of FIG. 2, the suggestion module 122 communicatesthe group recommendation list to the remote computing device 110 a fordisplay on the remote computing device 110 a. For example, the grouprecommendation list may be displayed to the requesting user on theremote computing device 110 a via the application 111. In certainexample embodiments, the group recommendation list is communicated toall members of the social group via the remote computing devices 110 b,110 c or other remote computing devices 110. In certain other exampleembodiments, the group recommendation list may be communicated to theother users in the social group from remote computing device 110 a. Forexample, the requesting user may share the group recommendation listwith other members of the social group by communicating the grouprecommendation list to the remote computing devices 110 associated withthe other members using NFC or other suitable communication medium.

Other Example Embodiments

FIG. 5 depicts a computing machine 2000 and a module 2050 in accordancewith certain example embodiments. The computing machine 2000 maycorrespond to any of the various computers, servers, mobile devices,embedded systems, or computing systems presented herein. The module 2050may comprise one or more hardware or software elements configured tofacilitate the computing machine 2000 in performing the various methodsand processing functions presented herein. The computing machine 2000may include various internal or attached components such as a processor2010, system bus 2020, system memory 2030, storage media 2040,input/output interface 2060, and a network interface 2070 forcommunicating with a network 2080.

The computing machine 2000 may be implemented as a conventional computersystem, an embedded controller, a laptop, a server, a mobile device, asmartphone, a set-top box, a kiosk, a vehicular information system, onemore processors associated with a television, a customized machine, anyother hardware platform, or any combination or multiplicity thereof. Thecomputing machine 2000 may be a distributed system configured tofunction using multiple computing machines interconnected via a datanetwork or bus system.

The processor 2010 may be configured to execute code or instructions toperform the operations and functionality described herein, managerequest flow and address mappings, and to perform calculations andgenerate commands. The processor 2010 may be configured to monitor andcontrol the operation of the components in the computing machine 2000.The processor 2010 may be a general purpose processor, a processor core,a multiprocessor, a reconfigurable processor, a microcontroller, adigital signal processor (“DSP”), an application specific integratedcircuit (“ASIC”), a graphics processing unit (“GPU”), a fieldprogrammable gate array (“FPGA”), a programmable logic device (“PLD”), acontroller, a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware components,any other processing unit, or any combination or multiplicity thereof.The processor 2010 may be a single processing unit, multiple processingunits, a single processing core, multiple processing cores, specialpurpose processing cores, co-processors, or any combination thereof.According to certain embodiments, the processor 2010 along with othercomponents of the computing machine 2000 may be a virtualized computingmachine executing within one or more other computing machines.

The system memory 2030 may include non-volatile memories such asread-only memory (“ROM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”),erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), flash memory, or anyother device capable of storing program instructions or data with orwithout applied power. The system memory 2030 may also include volatilememories such as random access memory (“RAM”), static random accessmemory (“SRAM”), dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”), and synchronousdynamic random access memory (“SDRAM”). Other types of RAM also may beused to implement the system memory 2030. The system memory 2030 may beimplemented using a single memory module or multiple memory modules.While the system memory 2030 is depicted as being part of the computingmachine 2000, one skilled in the art will recognize that the systemmemory 2030 may be separate from the computing machine 2000 withoutdeparting from the scope of the subject technology. It should also beappreciated that the system memory 2030 may include, or operate inconjunction with, a non-volatile storage device such as the storagemedia 2040.

The storage media 2040 may include a hard disk, a floppy disk, a compactdisc read only memory (“CD-ROM”), a digital versatile disc (“DVD”), aBlu-ray disc, a magnetic tape, a flash memory, other non-volatile memorydevice, a solid state drive (“SSD”), any magnetic storage device, anyoptical storage device, any electrical storage device, any semiconductorstorage device, any physical-based storage device, any other datastorage device, or any combination or multiplicity thereof. The storagemedia 2040 may store one or more operating systems, application programsand program modules such as module 2050, data, or any other information.The storage media 2040 may be part of, or connected to, the computingmachine 2000. The storage media 2040 may also be part of one or moreother computing machines that are in communication with the computingmachine 2000 such as servers, database servers, cloud storage, networkattached storage, and so forth.

The module 2050 may comprise one or more hardware or software elementsconfigured to facilitate the computing machine 2000 with performing thevarious methods and processing functions presented herein. The module2050 may include one or more sequences of instructions stored assoftware or firmware in association with the system memory 2030, thestorage media 2040, or both. The storage media 2040 may thereforerepresent examples of machine or computer readable media on whichinstructions or code may be stored for execution by the processor 2010.Machine or computer readable media may generally refer to any medium ormedia used to provide instructions to the processor 2010. Such machineor computer readable media associated with the module 2050 may comprisea computer software product. It should be appreciated that a computersoftware product comprising the module 2050 may also be associated withone or more processes or methods for delivering the module 2050 to thecomputing machine 2000 via the network 2080, any signal-bearing medium,or any other communication or delivery technology. The module 2050 mayalso comprise hardware circuits or information for configuring hardwarecircuits such as microcode or configuration information for an FPGA orother PLD.

The input/output (“I/O”) interface 2060 may be configured to couple toone or more external devices, to receive data from the one or moreexternal devices, and to send data to the one or more external devices.Such external devices along with the various internal devices may alsobe known as peripheral devices. The I/O interface 2060 may include bothelectrical and physical connections for operably coupling the variousperipheral devices to the computing machine 2000 or the processor 2010.The I/O interface 2060 may be configured to communicate data, addresses,and control signals between the peripheral devices, the computingmachine 2000, or the processor 2010. The I/O interface 2060 may beconfigured to implement any standard interface, such as small computersystem interface (“SCSI”), serial-attached SCSI (“SAS”), fiber channel,peripheral component interconnect (“PCI”), PCI express (PCIe), serialbus, parallel bus, advanced technology attached (“ATA”), serial ATA(“SATA”), universal serial bus (“USB”), Thunderbolt, FireWire, variousvideo buses, and the like. The I/O interface 2060 may be configured toimplement only one interface or bus technology. Alternatively, the I/Ointerface 2060 may be configured to implement multiple interfaces or bustechnologies. The I/O interface 2060 may be configured as part of, allof, or to operate in conjunction with, the system bus 2020. The I/Ointerface 2060 may include one or more buffers for bufferingtransmissions between one or more external devices, internal devices,the computing machine 2000, or the processor 2010.

The I/O interface 2060 may couple the computing machine 2000 to variousinput devices including mice, touch-screens, scanners, biometricreaders, electronic digitizers, sensors, receivers, touchpads,trackballs, cameras, microphones, keyboards, any other pointing devices,or any combinations thereof. The I/O interface 2060 may couple thecomputing machine 2000 to various output devices including videodisplays, speakers, printers, projectors, tactile feedback devices,automation control, robotic components, actuators, motors, fans,solenoids, valves, pumps, transmitters, signal emitters, lights, and soforth.

The computing machine 2000 may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections through the network interface 2070 to one or moreother systems or computing machines across the network 2080. The network2080 may include wide area networks (WAN), local area networks (LAN),intranets, the Internet, wireless access networks, wired networks,mobile networks, telephone networks, optical networks, or combinationsthereof. The network 2080 may be packet switched, circuit switched, ofany topology, and may use any communication protocol. Communicationlinks within the network 2080 may involve various digital or an analogcommunication media such as fiber optic cables, free-space optics,waveguides, electrical conductors, wireless links, antennas,radio-frequency communications, and so forth.

The processor 2010 may be connected to the other elements of thecomputing machine 2000 or the various peripherals discussed hereinthrough the system bus 2020. It should be appreciated that the systembus 2020 may be within the processor 2010, outside the processor 2010,or both. According to some embodiments, any of the processor 2010, theother elements of the computing machine 2000, or the various peripheralsdiscussed herein may be integrated into a single device such as a systemon chip (“SOC”), system on package (“SOP”), or ASIC device.

In situations in which the systems discussed here collect personalinformation about users, or may make use of personal information, theusers may be provided with a opportunity to control whether programs orfeatures collect user information (e.g., information about a user'ssocial network, social actions or activities, profession, a user'spreferences, or a user's current location), or to control whether and/orhow to receive content from the content server that may be more relevantto the user. In addition, certain data may be treated in one or moreways before it is stored or used, so that personally identifiableinformation is removed. For example, a user's identity may be treated sothat no personally identifiable information can be determined for theuser, or a user's geographic location may be generalized where locationinformation is obtained (such as to a city, ZIP code, or state level),so that a particular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, theuser may have control over how information is collected about the userand used by a content server.

Embodiments may comprise a computer program that embodies the functionsdescribed and illustrated herein, wherein the computer program isimplemented in a computer system that comprises instructions stored in amachine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions.However, it should be apparent that there could be many different waysof implementing embodiments in computer programming, and the embodimentsshould not be construed as limited to any one set of computer programinstructions. Further, a skilled programmer would be able to write sucha computer program to implement an embodiment of the disclosedembodiments based on the appended flow charts and associated descriptionin the application text. Therefore, disclosure of a particular set ofprogram code instructions is not considered necessary for an adequateunderstanding of how to make and use embodiments. Further, those skilledin the art will appreciate that one or more aspects of embodimentsdescribed herein may be performed by hardware, software, or acombination thereof, as may be embodied in one or more computingsystems. Moreover, any reference to an act being performed by a computershould not be construed as being performed by a single computer as morethan one computer may perform the act.

The example embodiments described herein can be used with computerhardware and software that perform the methods and processing functionsdescribed herein. The systems, methods, and procedures described hereincan be embodied in a programmable computer, computer-executablesoftware, or digital circuitry. The software can be stored oncomputer-readable media. For example, computer-readable media caninclude a floppy disk, RAM, ROM, hard disk, removable media, flashmemory, memory stick, optical media, magneto-optical media, CD-ROM, etc.Digital circuitry can include integrated circuits, gate arrays, buildingblock logic, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), etc.

The example systems, methods, and acts described in the embodimentspresented previously are illustrative, and, in alternative embodiments,certain acts can be performed in a different order, in parallel with oneanother, omitted entirely, and/or combined between different exampleembodiments, and/or certain additional acts can be performed, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of various embodiments. Accordingly,such alternative embodiments are included in the invention claimedherein.

Although specific embodiments have been described above in detail, thedescription is merely for purposes of illustration. It should beappreciated, therefore, that many aspects described above are notintended as required or essential elements unless explicitly statedotherwise. Modifications of, and equivalent components or actscorresponding to, the disclosed aspects of the example embodiments, inaddition to those described above, can be made by a person of ordinaryskill in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of embodiments defined in thefollowing claims, the scope of which is to be accorded the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass such modifications and equivalentstructures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method to providedestination recommendations to social groups, comprising: receiving, byone or more computing devices, a group recommendation request from afirst remote computing device associated with a requesting user, thegroup recommendation request comprising a current location of therequesting user and a request for a next destination based in part onthe current location of the requesting user; identifying, by the one ormore computing devices, a social group, the social group identifiedbased on one or more location signals received from one or more remotecomputing devices indicating that the remote computing devices arewithin a defined proximity threshold of the current location of therequesting user and that the two or more location signals were generatedwithin a defined time threshold of the group recommendation request, thesocial group further identified based on identification of common socialconnection information; generating, by the one or more computingdevices, a group recommendation list for the social group, the grouprecommendation list comprising a list of suggested destinations for thegroup based at least in part on personal preference profiles of eachmember of the social group; and displaying, by the one or more computingdevices, the group recommendation on the first remote computing device.2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a group recommendation listcomprises: determining, by the one or more computing devices, anindividual recommendation list for each member of the social group, theindividual recommendation list for each particular member comprising oneor more destination recommendations based at least in part on a personalpreference profile of the particular member; identifying, by the one ormore computing devices, a set of common recommendations that appear inmore than one individual recommendation list; determining, by the one ormore computing devices, a composite score for each identified commonrecommendation, wherein the composite score is based at least in part ona ranking of each common recommendation in the corresponding individualrecommendation lists; and generating, by the one or more computingdevices, the group recommendation list based on the composite scoreassigned to each identified common recommendation.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein generating a group recommendation list comprises:generating, by the one or more computing devices, a master preferenceprofile for the social group based at least in part on a combination ofthe personal preference profiles of each member of the social group; andgenerating, by the one or more computing devices, a social grouprecommendation list based at least in part on the master preferenceprofile.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: communicating, bythe one or more computing devices, a social group confirmation requestto the first remote computing device prior to generating the socialgroup recommendation list, the social group confirmation requestidentifying potential members for the social group; and receiving, bythe one or more computing devices, a social group confirmation from thefirst remote computing device confirming which of the potential membersto include in the social group.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theone or more location signals comprises a check-in location signalreceived from a remote computing device associated with a member of thesocial group.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more locationsignals comprises a tag signal.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thetag signal is associated with the check-in signal of the first member ofthe social group, or a photo taken within the proximity threshold.
 8. Acomputer program product, comprising: a non-transitorycomputer-executable storage device having computer-executable programinstructions embodied thereon that when executed by a computer cause thecomputer to provide destination recommendations to social groups, thecomputer-executable program instructions comprising: computer-executableprogram instructions to receive a recommendation request from a remotecomputing device associated with a requesting user, the grouprecommendation request comprising a current location of the requestinguser; computer-executable program instructions to identify one or moreusers that are within a social connection threshold; computer-executableprogram instructions to identify the one or more users that are withinthe social connection threshold that are also within a defined proximitythreshold of the current location of the requesting user based on one ormore location-based signals received from one or more remote computingdevices associated with the one or more users to define a social group;computer-executable program instructions to generate a grouprecommendation list for the social group, the group recommendation listcomprising a list of suggested destinations for the group based at leastin part on the personal preferences of each member of the social group;and computer-executable program instructions to display the social grouprecommendation on the first remote computing device.
 9. The computerprogram product of claim 8, wherein generating a social grouprecommendation list comprises: computer-executable program instructionsto determine a individual recommendation list for each member of thesocial group, the individual recommendation list for each particularmember comprising one or more destination recommendations based at leastin part on a personal preference profile of the particular member;computer-executable program instructions to identify a set of commonrecommendations that appear in more than one individual recommendationlist; computer-executable program instructions to determine a compositescore for each identified common recommendation; and computer-executableprogram instructions to generate the group recommendation list based onthe composite score assigned to each identified common recommendation.10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein generating a grouprecommendation list comprises: computer-executable program instructionsto generate a master preference profile for the social group based atleast in part on the combined personal preference profiles of eachmember of the social group; and computer-executable program instructionsto generate a social group recommendation list based at least in part onthe master preference profile.
 11. The computer program product of claim8, wherein the one or more location signals is a tag signal.
 12. Thecomputer program product of claim 11, wherein the tag signal isassociated a check-in signal or a photo taken within the definedproximity threshold.
 13. A system to provide destination recommendationsto social groups, comprising: a storage device; and a processorcommunicatively coupled to the storage device, wherein the processorexecutes application code instructions that are stored in the storagedevice to cause the system to: identify a social group based on one ormore location-based signals received from a first remote computingdevice associated with a requesting user, other remote computing devicesassociated with one or more other users, or a combination thereof, theone ore more location signals indicating the remote computing devicesare within a defined proximity threshold to the first remote computingdevice and that the one or more location signals were generated within adefine time threshold to the generation of a current one of the one ormore location-based signals received from the first computing device,the social group further identified based on identification of commonsocial connection information; generate a group recommendation list forthe social group, the group recommendation list comprising a list ofsuggested destinations for the group based at least in part on thepersonal preferences of each member of the social group; and display thesocial group recommendation on the first remote computing device. 14.The system of claim 13, wherein generating a group recommendation listfurther comprises executing application code instructions that cause thesystem to: determine an individual recommendation list for each memberof the social group, the individual recommendation list for eachparticular member comprising one or more ranked destinationrecommendations based at least in part on a personal preference profileof the particular member; identify a set of common recommendations thatappear in more than one individual recommendation list; determine acomposite score for each identified common recommendation; and generatethe group recommendation list based on the composite score assigned toeach identified common recommendation.
 15. The system of claim 13,wherein generating a group recommendation list further comprisesexecuting application code instructions that cause the system to:generate a master preference profile for the social group based at leastin part on the combined personal preference profiles of each member ofthe social group; and generate a social group recommendation list basedat least in part on the master preference profile.
 16. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the one or more location signals is a check-inlocation signal received from a remote computing device associated witha member of the social group.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein theone or more location signals is a tag signal.
 18. The system of claim17, wherein the tag signal is associated with a check-in signal, or aphoto taken within the defined proximity threshold.